Lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric treadmill

ABSTRACT

A lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric treadmill includes a base frame with a U-shaped groove laterally extended across the base frame. The U-shaped groove is filled with felted wool in which lubricant is contained. After assembly of the above-mentioned components, the felted wool within the U-shaped groove is in constant contact with the bottom surface of the endless moving belt, thereby ensuring a reliable and long-term lubrication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Fields of the Invention

The invention relates to a lubricating apparatus for an endless movingbelt of an electric treadmill, and more particularly to a lubricatingapparatus that constantly lubricates the endless moving belt to ensure asmooth running of the endless moving belt.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, an electric treadmill usually uses a motor (not shown in thefigure) and a transmission belt (not shown in the figure) to drive aroller, and the roller drives the treadmill belt to run, so that a usercan successfully perform a running exercise on the treadmill. To supportthe user's body weight, a running board is installed under the treadmillbelt, such that when a user is performing a running exercise, the bottomsurface of the treadmill belt produces a friction with the correspondingsurface of the running board. Since there is a friction produced betweenthe treadmill belt and the running board, manufacturers usually have tocoat a layer of lubricant on the surface of the running board to preventexcessive frictions created between the treadmill belt and the runningboard that will wear out or damage the treadmill belt.

Since the running board and treadmill belt keep rubbing with each other,the lubricant will be used up gradually, and the lubricating effect willdiminish. Therefore, users have to ask the maintenance people of themanufacturer or distributor to apply lubricants to the treadmill andmaintain the normal operation of the treadmill belt, after the treadmillhas been used for a while. The lubricating process has to be done by anexperienced technician, since many components (such as the protectivebottom chassis, the roller, and the treadmill belt) of the treadmillhave to be removed before the lubrication can be made. To avoid damagesto the treadmill during the process of disassembling and reinstallingthe components of the treadmill, it is recommended to ask professionalpeople or experienced technician to handle the lubrication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the inconvenient lubricating procedure of the prior art, theinventor of the present invention based on years of experience in therelated industry to conduct extensive researches, and finally invented alubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electrictreadmill. Therefore, it is a primary object of the invention to add aU-shaped groove containing a lubricant, and use the U-shaped groovetogether with a felted wool having a good absorbability to provide alubrication at the bottom surface of the endless moving belt, inaddition to applying a lubricant to the surface of the running boardbefore the electronic treadmill is shipped out of the factory. Sucharrangement can greatly extend the effective lubricating time and reducethe trouble of lubricating the treadmill.

Another objective of the present invention is to allow users to add andrefill the lubricant according to a simple and easy method to saveunnecessary maintenance cost. In the present invention, an oil fillingpipe is wrapped by a wool felt, and the oil filling hole of the oilfilling pipe is disposed at an appropriate position at an external sideof the U-shaped groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description and its accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention fitted to a treadmill;

FIG. 2 is a top view in accordance with the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinally sectional view in accordance with theinvention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a refill tube in accordance with theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

First of all, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a treadmill 10 includes a baseframe 20 with a U-shaped groove 30 laterally extended across the baseframe 20. The U-shaped groove 30 is filled with felted wool 40 in whichlubricant is contained. After assembly of the above-mentionedcomponents, the felted wool 40 within the U-shaped groove 30 is inconstant contact with the bottom surface of the endless moving belt 14,thereby ensuring a reliable and long-term lubrication.

When the operator stands on the endless moving belt 14 for a walkingexercise, the lubricant within the felted wool 40 will be continuouslyattached to the bottom surface of the endless moving belt 14 due to thesiphon action. In this way, an effective lubrication between the endlessmoving belt 14 and the platform 12 is ensured.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the operator can easily refill the U-shapedgroove 30 with lubricant. In order to reduce the unnecessary maintenancecost, a refill tube 50 can be enclosed by the felted wool 40 while therefill tube 50 is formed with a plurality of oil outlets 52. Moreover,the refill tube 50 includes an oil filling hole 54 disposed at theexternal side of the U-shaped groove 30. Besides, a cock body 56 isemployed to block up each of the oil filling holes 54. When the operatorwants to refill the U-shaped groove 30 with the lubricant, it is onlyrequired to open a protection cover (not shown) at the bottom of thetreadmill 10 and to pull out the cock body 56. In this way, theconvenience and the practicalness can be ensured.

Referring to FIG. 5, elastic elements are fitted to the bottom of theU-shaped groove 30 in order to push up the U-shaped groove 30 for aconstant contact with the corresponding surface of the endless movingbelt 14. Moreover, the U-shaped groove 30 can be pivotally attached tothe base frame 20 by pivoting shafts 32.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of theinvention can, of course, be carried out without departing from thescope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and theuseful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electrictreadmill, the treadmill having a base frame with a U-shaped groovelaterally extending across the base frame, the U-shaped groove beingfilled with felted wool in which lubricant is contained whereby, afterassembly of the above-mentioned components, the felted wool within theU-shaped groove is in constant contact with the bottom surface of theendless moving belt, thereby ensuring a reliable and long-termlubrication.
 2. The lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt ofan electric treadmill of claim 1, wherein a refill tube is enclosed bythe felted wool while the refill tube is formed with a plurality of oiloutlets, and wherein the refill tube includes an oil filling holedisposed at the external side of the U-shaped groove.
 3. A lubricatingapparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric treadmill, thetreadmill having a base frame with a U-shaped groove laterally extendingacross the base frame, the U-shaped groove being pivotally attached bypivoting shafts to the base frame, the U-shaped groove being filled withfelted wool in which lubricant is contained, the elastic elements arefitted to the bottom of the U-shaped groove in order to push up theU-shaped groove for a constant contact with the corresponding surface ofthe endless moving belt, whereby, after assembly of the above-mentionedcomponents, the felted wool within the U-shaped groove is in constantcontact with the bottom surface of the endless moving belt, therebyensuring a reliable and long-term lubrication.
 4. The lubricatingapparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric treadmill of claim3, wherein a refill tube is enclosed by the felted wool while the refilltube is formed with a plurality of oil outlets, and wherein the refilltube includes an oil filling hole disposed at the external side of theU-shaped groove.